Transfer account systems, computer program products, and associated computer-implemented methods

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention include transfer account systems, computer program products, and associated computer-implemented methods of providing prioritized payments from the proceeds of automatic or direct deposits. Embodiments of the present invention include routing automatic deposit information to a financial institution computer managing a prioritized payment program and formulating an outgoing ACH file with both an entry for an automatic deposit destined for a customer account and an entry for a pre-authorized prioritized payment to a select creditor, so that the automatic deposit is credited to the customer account and relatively instantaneously any prioritized payment is debited from the customer account. According to embodiments of the present invention, the customer account can be a prepaid card account so that a customer has effective access on the prepaid card only to a net value of funds.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/016,213, by Sorbe et al., titled“Transfer Account Systems, Computer Program Products, and AssociatedMethods” filed Dec. 21, 2007, incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. This application also relates to U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/338,402, by Sorbe et al., titled “Transfer Account Systems,Computer Program Products, and Associated Computer-Implemented Methods”filed on the same day as this application, Dec. 18, 2008; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/338,440, by Sorbe et al., titled “TransferAccount Systems, Computer Program Products, and AssociatedComputer-Implemented Methods” filed on the same day as this application,Dec. 18, 2008; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/338,584, by Sorbe etal., titled “Transfer Account Systems, Computer Program Products, andComputer-Implemented Methods to Prioritize Payments from PreselectedBank Account” filed on the same day as this application, Dec. 18, 2008;and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/338,465, by Sorbe et al., titled“Transfer Account Systems, Computer Program Products, andComputer-Implemented Methods to Prioritize Payments from PreselectedBank Account” filed on the same day as this application, Dec. 18, 2008,each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates generally to the financial service andbanking industries, and, more particularly, to systems, computer programproducts, and associated computer-implemented methods of providingprioritized payments from proceeds of automatic deposits.

2. Background

Today, a bank customer can authorize a loan provider to debit acustomer's bank account, e.g., a checking, savings, money market, for aloan payment, or, more generally, a customer can authorize a creditor todebit the customer's bank account for a bill payment. Funds, however,may or may not be in the account at the time the creditor is authorizedto debit the account or receive the finds from the account. Furthermore,the bank authorized to make the debit controls the order of presentment.This allows covering of an overdraft to the bank itself first orprocessing larger items early in the day in order to generate moreoverdraft fees when multiple smaller items are processed later in theday. Rather than bounce one big check, for example, banks may choose tobounce several smaller checks to generate extra fees.

It is known for banks to offer money management systems that have amoney management account and a discretionary fund account in which billsare paid directly from the money management account on acustomer-determined schedule, and excess funds beyond the customer'sbudget are transferred into the discretionary fund account. It is alsoknown that such a money management system can be used in conjunctionwith loan payments. These offerings, however, still require the customerto determine a budget and schedule of payments. In addition, theseofferings depend on the customer's discipline for not accessing thefunds in the money management account, funds which are known to thecustomer and belong to the customer.

Other systems or methods include having an employer make loan paymentson behalf of an employee directly out of payroll. Such solutionsneedlessly involve the employer in the finances of the employee, whichcan raise privacy concerns and introduce complexity into the payrollprocess.

Direct deposit proceeds, as the name implies, are often directlydeposited into a bank customer's deposit account, also known as achecking account, savings account, or bank account. That is, a directdeposit is a payment that is electronically deposited into anindividual's account at a depository institution. A direct deposit canbe more generally known as an automatic deposit. Partially as a resultof the situation with funds not being available to authorized creditors,among other reasons, many people simply do not have a traditionalchecking, savings, or other deposit account; they do not write checks.Instead, their automatic deposit proceeds, such as payroll andgovernment benefits, typically are deposited into prepaid card accounts.Often these customers limit payments to available funds on a prepaidcard.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Applicants have recognized numerous problems with current offerings forloan and other bill payments and one or more sources of these problems.For example, Applicants have recognized that it can be difficult for acreditor to be assured of payment for an authorized debit using atraditional bank account unless a customer is willing and able tobalance or manage the deposit account, recording each and every deposit,check, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawal, and debit cardtransaction, including automatic withdrawals and bank fees. Also, from acustomer's point of view, there is a need to be able to prioritize loanpayments or other bill payments without having to balance a check book.That is, a customer may like, for example, to have his car paymentdebited from the proceeds of his payroll check immediately, rather thanever having access to the funds. Prioritized loan and bill payment canimprove the customer's payment history and, thus, improve the customerscredit rating or credit score to thereby result in lower interest ratesfor the customer on any future loan. From a loan provider's perspective,there is great value in being able to prioritize loan payments. Byreducing the risk of non-payment, in many cases substantially so, theloan provider should be able to offer more affordable loan products,benefiting both the loan provider and also loan customers. Paymentprioritization, according to embodiments of the present invention,should reduce the risk of non-payment as compared to the risk that thesource of the automatically deposited funds dries up (i.e., the worker'semployment is terminated) or is redirected (i.e., the worker changes theautomatic deposit routing).

In view of the foregoing, Applicants provide embodiments of transferaccount systems, computer program product, and associatedcomputer-implemented methods of providing prioritized payments from theproceeds of automatic deposits according to the present invention.According to embodiments of the present invention, for example, atransfer account acts as a new form of pass-through or sweep account,allowing automatic deposit funds to be intercepted and swept ofprioritized loan or bill payments relatively instantaneously after thecustomer has access to the proceeds, resulting in the customereffectively having access only to any surplus funds, that is, theautomatic deposits funds net of the prioritized payments.

According to embodiments of the present invention, various situationswith recurring automatic deposit funds can benefit from a transferaccount, including, for example, employer payroll funds to individuals,federal or state government electronic benefits payments to individuals,and bank-initiated payments to merchants for credit card sales.Recurring automatic deposit funds also include annuities, dividends,interest payments, lottery winnings, royalty payments, and other streamsof payments as understood by those skilled in the art.

According to embodiments of the present invention, various types ofpayment on behalf of the customer can benefit from embodiments of thepresent invention, including, for example: (1) payments to a third-party(i.e., credit card, utility, cell phone bills) under a license agreementfrom the bank providing the transfer account; (2) a customer-initiatedgift card purchase; (3) customer remittance of money to family locatedinternationally or outside of a country; (4) loan payments to the bankproviding the transfer account; (5) customer-initiated bill payment; (6)customer transfer of money to another transfer account customer, andothers as understood by those skilled in the art. Note that, accordingto embodiments of the present invention, prioritized payments may berecurring or non-recurring events.

As understood by those skilled in the art, Automated Clearing House(ACH) is the name of an electronic network for financial transactions inthe United States, regulated by the Federal Reserve. Embodiments of thepresent invention, for example, use standard ACH payments to receive theautomatic deposit funds and to send the automatic deposit funds andprioritized payment information to another financial institution orprepaid card processor.

Embodiments of the present invention include a computer-implementedmethod of providing prioritized payments. Under the computer-implementedmethod, a financial institution enrolls customer accounts, whetherprepaid card accounts or deposit accounts at another financialinstitution, in a prioritized payment program. As part of enrolling inthe prioritized payment program, the customer pre-authorizes paymentrequests by one or more select creditors from the account. The financialinstitution computer maintains one or more lists of account identifiersfor accounts enrolled in the program. Next, the financial institutioncomputer receives an incoming ACH file, a batch file as understood bythose skilled in the art, including one or more automatic deposits foran account enrolled in the prioritized payment program. The financialinstitution computer compares the account identifiers in the incomingACH file with the maintained lists of enrolled account identifiers. Foreach account enrolled in the prioritized payment program with anunfilled pre-authorized payment request by a select creditor, thefinancial institution computer appends to an outgoing ACH file one ormore prioritized payments responsive to the unfilled pre-authorizedpayment requests. The outgoing ACH file includes entries for theautomatic deposit from the incoming ACH file and entries for the one ormore prioritized payments, so that the automatic deposit is credited tothe account and relatively instantaneously any prioritized payment to aselect creditor is debited from the account, resulting in the customereffectively having access only to any surplus or net funds.

Embodiments of the present invention further include the generating offees by the financial institution computer for the financial institutionfor the one or more prioritized payments from an account enrolled in theprioritized loan program to one or more select creditors when theseprioritized payments are appended to the outgoing ACH file. Fees can bebased per account, per transaction, per vendor, or otherwise asunderstood by those skilled in the art.

The embodiments of the present invention enable the offering of newproducts and promotions by requiring a customer to enroll in theprioritized payment program as a condition of a transaction. Forexample, a mobile phone providers standard offer today, for example, caninclude a new phone for $100 upfront with a one-year service agreementat $75 per month. According to the embodiments of the present invention,a new offering can be a new phone for no upfront costs with one-yearservice agreement at $75 per month, with the agreement requiring therouting of payroll funds via automatic deposit to a transfer account andpre-authorization for the payment of the monthly bill. In this example,the mobile phone provider receives, as part of the service agreement,prioritized payment each month from the proceeds of the customer'sautomatic deposit.

In other embodiments of the present invention, a customer is required toenroll in the prioritized payment program as a condition of a loan. Forexample, a lending institution can offer a car loan to a customer havinga low credit score and without a traditional deposit account if thecustomer will enroll in the prioritized payment program, includingpre-authorizing loan payments to the lending institution and routing thecustomers payroll deposit to a transfer account.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a bank can offer amerchant a discounted small business loan rate if the merchant willroute the automatic deposit of the merchant's credit card receipts to atransfer account and allow that bank prioritized loan payments from thecredit card receipts funds.

Embodiments of the present invention include computer program product toimplement the methods described and shown. Embodiments of the presentinvention include a computer program product, stored on a tangiblecomputer memory media that is readable by a computer, providingprioritized payments from the proceeds of automatic deposits, thecomputer program product comprising a set of instructions that, whenexecuted by the computer, cause the computer to perform variousoperations. The operations include maintaining lists of accountidentifiers for accounts enrolled in a prioritized payment program by afinancial institution, receiving an incoming ACH file by a financialinstitution, comparing the one or more of the account identifiers in theincoming ACH file with the maintained one or more lists of accountidentifiers for accounts enrolled in the prioritized payment program,and formulating one or more outgoing ACH files responsive to theincoming ACH file. In the event of a match between an account identifieron a list of accounts enrolled in the priority payment program and anaccount identifier in the incoming ACH file, the operations includeappending to the outgoing ACH file one or more prioritized payments froman account enrolled in the prioritized payment program to one or moreselect creditors responsive to one or more unfilled pre-authorizedpayment requests by the one or more select creditors, so that theautomatic deposit is credited to the account and relativelyinstantaneously any prioritized payment to the one or more selectcreditors is debited from the account. According to an embodiment of thepresent invention, the operations further include notifying a selectcreditor that the incoming ACH file includes one or more accountsenrolled in the prioritized payment program prompting a payment requestby the select creditor.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention include systems,computer program products, and associated computer-implemented methodsof providing prioritized payments for loan, bill, and other paymentsfrom the proceeds of automatic deposits as will be understood by thoseskilled in the art, so that a customer has effective access through thecustomer account or on a prepaid card only to a net value of funds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the features and benefits of the invention,as well as others which will become apparent, may be understood in moredetail, a more particular description of the invention brieflysummarized above may be had by reference to embodiments thereof whichare illustrated in the appended drawings, which form a part of thisspecification. It is also to be noted, however, that the drawingsillustrate only various embodiments of the invention and are thereforenot to be considered limiting of the invention's scope as it may includeother effective embodiments as well.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are respective front and back plan views of a prepaidcard as used according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front plan view of a display screen of a computer displayingan excerpt of an account activity statement according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a system to provide prioritizedpayments for a prepaid card account according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow diagram of a system to provide prioritizedpayments for a prepaid card account according to another embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a system to provide prioritizedpayments for a customer bank account according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flow diagram of a system to provide prioritizedpayments for a customer bank account according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial list of prepaid card account identifiers foraccounts enrolled in a prioritized payment program by a financialinstitution stored in memory of a computer and capable of beingdisplayed on a display screen of a computer according to an embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an excerpt of an incoming ACH file with automatic depositsentries stored in memory of a computer and capable of being displayed ona display screen of a computer according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is an excerpt of an outgoing ACH file with automatic deposits andprioritized payment entries stored in memory of a computer and capableof being displayed on a display screen of a computer according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an excerpt of an outgoing ACH file with headings stored inmemory of a computer and being displayed on a display screen of acomputer according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a computer-implemented method ofprioritized payments according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a program product stored in memory andexecutable by a computer according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a computer-implemented method ofprioritized payments according to another embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a program product stored in memory andexecutable by a computer according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate embodiments ofthe invention. This invention may, however, be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theillustrated embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

One source of the problems with current offerings for loan and otherbill payment, as recognized by Applicants, is that money that can beaccessed is often spent. The adage about money burning a hole in thepocket is apt. Although a bank customer can authorize a loan provider todebit the customer's deposit account for a loan payment, or, moregenerally, a customer can authorize a creditor to debit the customer'sdeposit account for a bill payment, there is no guaranty that the fundswill still be available at the time of the request for payment. That is,a creditor can debit the customer's account too late, or too early ifnew funds have not been deposited. Applicants recognize that a preferredtime for a debit is immediately after or relatively simultaneous withthe receipt of a deposit, especially a recurring deposit such as payrollor government benefits.

Embodiments of the present invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B,for example, can include a prepaid card 101. As understood by thoseskilled in the art, prepaid cards can include a logo 102 associated witha provider or sponsor of the prepaid card and an expiration date 104.Prepaid cards 101 are typically associated with an account number 103,and a prepaid card account can often be reloaded with additional funds.Prepaid cards 101 often have a magnetic strip 105, as understood bythose skilled in the art, and are coded so that the code received by apoint of sale terminal or other interface processes the code so that avalue is associated with the code, for example, to allow purchases withthe prepaid card through a communications network 26, as illustrated inFIG. 3, to authorize payment from a bank or other financial institutionthrough a prepaid card processor 40, and to decrement the valueassociated with the card 101.

Embodiments of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 2, includea display screen of a computer displaying an excerpt of an accountactivity statement for a customer account 110. The account activitystatement can include a list of activities or transactions, sorted byone or more of the time 111, description 112, credit 113 (or deposit oraddition), debit 114 (or withdrawal or subtraction), or balance 115. Theaccount activity can provide for various periods of time, including aday (as shown in FIG. 2), a week, a month, or otherwise as understood bythose skilled in the art. For example the overnight balance 116 can beprovided. Then a credit, such as, for example, an automatic payrolldeposit 117A, can be listed. Debits, including prioritized payments,such as, for example, for a car payment 117B and a cell phone bill 117C,can be listed. Other transactions, such as, a balance inquiry 118, anATM withdrawal 119, an ATM fee 120, or other fees and transactions asunderstood by those skilled in the art, can be listed. According toembodiments of the present invention, the automatic deposit is creditedto the account and relatively instantaneously any prioritized payment tothe one or more select creditors is debited from the account (asillustrated in the time column 111 for transactions 117A, 117B, and117C) so that the customer effectively has access to only the surplusfunds.

Embodiments of the present invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4,for example, include bundling an entry for an automatic deposit with anentry for a prioritized payment to a select creditor in the same ACHfile 42 directed to a prepaid card processor 40, so that the automaticdeposit is credited to the customer prepaid card account 38 andrelatively instantaneously any prioritized payment 44 to the selectcreditor 34 is debited from the account. In another embodiment of thepresent invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example, the ACHfile 42 is directed to a customer financial institution 48 associatedwith a customer bank account 52.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate an excerpt of such an ACH file 42 according toan embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10, for example, includesheading information in the ACH file 42 for illustration purposes. Forthe automatic deposit entries, the ACH file 42 includes a record type42A, a transaction code 42B, routing number 42C, check digit 42D, a DFIaccount number 42E, the dollar amount 42F, an individual ID 42G,individual name 42H, product type code 42I, addenda indicator 42J, andtrace number 42K, as understood by those skilled in the art. Likewise,all of this information is included for the prioritized payment entries.As illustrated in FIG. 10, an ACH file 42, for example, may be a batchfile, as understood by those skilled in the art. With this informationand organization, according to embodiments of the present invention, theprepaid card processor 40 or the customer financial institution 48processes the ACH file 42 so that the automatic deposit is credited tothe customer account and relatively instantaneously any prioritizedpayment 44 to the select creditor 34 is debited from the account.

By offering prioritized payments, the embodiments of the presentinvention enable the offering of new products and promotions. Accordingto the embodiments of the present invention, these new products andpromotions can require a customer to enroll in the prioritized paymentprogram as a condition of a transaction. The financial institution 28maintains the list(s) of accounts enrolled in the prioritized paymentprogram 46. Therefore, a utility customer can receive a discounted rate,as understood by those skilled in the art, if the utility companyreceives a prioritized payment 44 each month from the proceeds of thecustomer's payroll, a source of an automatic deposit 22, according tothe embodiments of the present invention.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a customer isrequired to enroll in the prioritized payment program as a condition ofa loan. The financial institution 28 maintains the list(s) of accountsenrolled in the prioritized payment program 46. In another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, a merchant is eligible for adiscounted small business loan rate if the merchant routes the automaticdeposit of the merchant's credit card receipts to a transfer account andallows that bank prioritized loan payments 44 from the credit cardreceipts funds. As understood by those skilled in the art, credit cardreceipts are a source of automatic deposits 22. Embodiments of thepresent invention provide, for example, for credit or a loan from thefinancial institution defining a first financial institution or by asecond financial institution different and remote from the firstfinancial institution. That is, the financial institution can providethe transfer account and related products and services in conjunctionwith its own efforts to extend credit or in conjunction with lending andcredit efforts by another financial institution or institutions.

FIG. 8 illustrates an excerpt of an incoming ACH file 32 with automaticdeposit entries stored in memory of a computer and capable of beingdisplayed on a display screen of a computer, as received by thefinancial institution 28. As understood by those skilled in the art, theincoming ACH file 32 includes header and batch information 100 about theACH file, such as origin, destination, and record size and type. Theincoming ACH file 32 is a batch file with multiple entries for automaticdeposits, for example, from ABC COMPANY to various individuals, such asDOE, JOHN, at various institutions according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a computer programproduct 64, as illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 14, associated with thefinancial institution computer 30, stored on a tangible computer memorymedia 62, and operable on a computer 30. The computer program product,for example, includes a set of instructions 64 that, when executed bythe computer, cause the computer to perform various operations asdescribed herein. The computer program product 64 can maintain one ormore lists of accounts enrolled in the prioritized payment program by afinancial institution (blocks 66, 140). FIG. 7 illustrates an example ofsuch a list, according to embodiments of the present invention. Afterreceiving the incoming ACH file by the financial institution (blocks 68,142), the computer program product, according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, compares the accounts in the incoming ACH file withthe maintained lists (blocks 70, 144). Then, the computer programproduct, according to an embodiment of the present invention, formulatesone or more outgoing ACH files 42, responsive to the incoming ACH file32, and appends to the file a prioritized payment 44 from an accountenrolled in the prioritized payment program to a select creditor 34(blocks 72, 146) in the event of an unfilled pre-authorized paymentrequest by a creditor computer 36. This, for example, transforms thefile from one type to a different file type. Therefore, according toembodiments of the present invention, the automatic deposit is creditedto the customer bank account 52 or prepaid card account 38 andrelatively instantaneously the prioritized payment to the creditorcomputer is debited from the same account.

According to embodiments of the present invention, sources of automaticdeposits 22 include: employer-initiated direct deposit of payroll, afederal or state government-initiated electronic transfer of benefitspayment, and a bank-initiated payment to a merchant for credit cardsales. According to embodiments of the present invention, recurringautomatic deposits funds also include annuities, dividends, interestpayments, lottery winnings, royalty payments, and other streams ofpayments as understood by those skilled in the art.

Embodiments of the present invention include computerized orcomputer-implemented methods of providing prioritized payments, asillustrated in FIGS. 11 and 13. According to embodiments of the presentinvention, for example, a financial institution enrolls customeraccounts by use of a computer and flagging or identifying the customeras an enrollee, whether prepaid card accounts (see FIG. 11) or depositaccounts at another financial institution (see FIG. 13), in aprioritized payment program. As part of enrolling in the prioritizedpayment program, the customer pre-authorizes payment requests by one ormore select creditors from the account. The financial institutioncomputer maintains one or more lists of account identifiers for accountsenrolled in the program (blocks 80, 130). Next, the financialinstitution computer receives an incoming ACH file (blocks 82, 132), forexample, in the form of a batch file as understood by those skilled inthe art, including one or more automatic deposits for an accountenrolled in the prioritized payment program. The financial institutioncomputer has instructions stored in memory that compare the accountidentifiers in the incoming ACH file with the maintained lists ofenrolled account identifiers (blocks 84, 134). For each account enrolledin the prioritized payment program with an unfilled pre-authorizedpayment request by a select creditor, the financial institution computerappends to an outgoing ACH file one or more prioritized paymentsresponsive to the unfilled pre-authorized payment requests (blocks 86,136). The new outgoing ACH file includes entries for the automaticdeposit from the incoming ACH file and entries for the prioritizedpayments, so that the automatic deposit is credited to the account andrelatively instantaneously any prioritized payment to a select creditoris debited from the account, resulting in the customer effectivelyhaving access only to any surplus funds. In addition, the financialinstitution computer has instructions that generate fees for theprioritized payments (blocks 88, 138); the fees can be based peraccount, per transaction, per vendor, or otherwise as understood bythose skilled in the art.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a system 20 to provideprioritized payments from the proceeds of an automatic deposit to aprepaid card account, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The system 20includes a first computer associated with a source of automatic deposits22, defining a deposit computer 24. The deposit computer providesinformation for an automatic deposit for a customer through anelectronic communications network 26. The system 20 also includes one ormore second computers associated with a financial institution 28,defining a bank computer 30, in communication with the deposit computer24 through the electronic communications network 26. The bank computerreceives and processes an ACH file 32 including the information for theautomatic deposit for the customer from the deposit computer 24. Thebank computer includes software as illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 14 anddiscussed below. The system 20 further includes a third computerassociated with a select creditor 34, defining a creditor computer 36,in communication with the bank computer 30 through the electroniccommunications network 26. As part of enrolling in the prioritizedpayment program, the customer pre-authorizes certain requests by thecreditor computer 36 and routes the automatic deposits from the sourceof automatic deposits 22 to the bank computer 30 associated with thefinancial institution 28 having the prioritized payment program. Thecreditor computer 36, in turn, has instructions to request a prioritizedpayment from the bank computer 30 and receive a prioritized payment 44from the customer as described below. The system 20 also includes afourth computer associated with a customer prepaid card account 38defining a prepaid card processor 40 as understood by those skilled inthe art. The prepaid card processor receives an outgoing ACH file 42from the bank computer 30 through the electronic communications network26 and, responsive to the ACH file, credits the automatic depositproceeds to the prepaid card account 38 and debits relativelyinstantaneously any prioritized payment 44 to the creditor computer 36from the prepaid card account 38 through the electronic communicationsnetwork 26. In turn, this movement of data based on instructions storedon the respective computers allows the display of data to a customer ormerchant on available funds, e.g., based on a load on a prepaid card, toshow only available funds after the prioritized payment deductions haveoccurred responsive to the instructions.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a system 20 to provideprioritized payments from the proceeds of an automatic deposit to acustomer bank account, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. The system 20includes a first computer associated with a source of automatic deposits22, defining a deposit computer 24. The deposit computer providesinformation for an automatic deposit for a customer through anelectronic communications network 26. The system 20 also includes secondcomputer associated with a financial institution 28, defining a bankcomputer 30, in communication with the deposit computer 24 through theelectronic communications network 26. The bank computer receives andprocesses an ACH file 32 including the information for the automaticdeposit for the customer from the deposit computer 24. The bank computerincludes software or program product stored in memory as instructionsand executable by the computer as illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 14 anddiscussed below. The system 20 further includes a third computerassociated with a select creditor 34, defining a creditor computer 36,in communication with the bank computer 30 through the electroniccommunications network 26. As part of enrolling in the prioritizedpayment program, the customer pre-authorizes certain requests by thecreditor computer 36 and routes the automatic deposits from the sourceof automatic deposits 22 to the bank computer 30 associated with thefinancial institution 28 having the prioritized payment program. Thecreditor computer 36 can request a prioritized payment from the bankcomputer 30 and receive a prioritized payment 44 from the customer asdescribed below. The system 20 also includes a fourth computer a secondfinancial institution 28 associated with a customer bank account 52defining a customer institution computer 50. The customer institutioncomputer 50 receives an outgoing ACH file 42 from the bank computer 30through the electronic communications network 26 and, responsive to theACH file, credits the automatic deposit proceeds to the customer bankaccount 52 and debits relatively instantaneously any prioritized payment44 to the creditor computer 36 from the customer bank account 52 throughthe electronic communications network 26.

In addition, the embodiments of the present invention include a computerprogram product, as illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 14, associated with thebank computer, stored on a tangible computer memory media 62, operableon a computer 30. The computer program product, for example, includes aset of instructions 64 that, when executed by the computer, cause thecomputer to perform various operations as described herein. Theoperations can include maintaining one or more lists 46 of accountidentifiers for accounts enrolled in a prioritized payment program bythe financial institution 28 (blocks 66, 140). The operations alsoinclude receiving an incoming ACH file 32 by the bank computer 30(blocks 68, 142). The ACH file 32 includes one or more accountidentifiers associated with an automatic deposit, for example, anautomatic deposit destined for a prepaid card account 38. The operationsfurther include comparing the account identifiers in the incoming ACHfile 32 with one or more maintained lists 46 of account identifiers foraccounts enrolled in the prioritized payment program (blocks 70, 144).The operations also include appending to an outgoing ACH file 42,responsive to the incoming ACH file 32, a prioritized payment 44 from anaccount enrolled in the prioritized payment program to the selectcreditor computer 36 (blocks 72, 146), so that the automatic deposit iscredited to the customer account 38 and relatively instantaneously theprioritized payment to the creditor computer is debited from the account38.

A person having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that varioustypes of memory are readable by a computer such as described herein,e.g., deposit source computer, bank computer, credit computer, prepaidcard processors, or other computers with embodiments of the presentinvention so that instruction stored in such memory are executable andcause various operations within the computer. Examples of computerreadable media include but are not limited to: nonvolatile, hard-codedtype media such as read only memories (ROMs), CD-ROMs, and DVD-ROMs, orerasable, electrically programmable read only memories (EEPROMs),recordable type media such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, CD-R/RWs,DVD-RAMs, DVD-R/RWs, DVD+R/RWs, flash drives, memory sticks, and othernewer types of memories, and transmission type media such as digital andanalog communication links. For example, such media can includeoperating instructions stored therein, as well as instructions relatedto the system and the method steps described above and can operate on acomputer. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that suchmedia can be at other locations instead of or in addition to the bank tostore program products, e.g., including software, thereon. Embodimentsof a system for providing prioritized payments, for example, can includea plurality of customer access interface devices as illustrated anddescribed herein and one or more remote computer servers positioned toprovide communication with each of the plurality of customer accessinterface devices and being associated with a financial institution.Each of these computer servers, for example, can having one or more ofthese various types of memory as understood by those skilled in the art.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tothe mind of those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachingspresented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to belimited to the illustrated embodiments disclosed, and that modificationsand other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope ofthe appended claims.

1. A system for providing prioritized payments from proceeds ofautomatic deposits, the system comprising: a computer associated with afinancial institution defining a financial institution computer, thefinancial institution computer having a non-transitory memory, thefinancial institution computer being associated with an electroniccommunications network, and positioned to receive, process, and send anautomated clearing house (ACH) file; and computer program productassociated with the financial institution computer, stored in thenon-transitory computer memory, and used to perform a process ofassociating a prepaid card account with an automatic deposit and aprocess of providing prioritized payments from the automatic deposit,the computer program product comprising a set of instructions that, whenexecuted by the financial institution computer, cause the financialinstitution computer to perform the operations of: maintaining one ormore lists of prepaid card account identifiers for a plurality ofprepaid user card accounts enrolled in a prioritized payment program atthe financial institution, the prioritized payment program allowing theprepaid card user to pre-authorize payment requests by one or moreselect creditors, matching, responsive to receipt through an ACHelectronic data communication network of an incoming ACH file includingat least one account identifier, the at least one account identifier inthe incoming ACH file with an account identifier in the one or morelists of account identifiers for prepaid card accounts enrolled in theprioritized payment program, the at least one account identifier beingassociated with the automatic deposit, the automatic deposit destinedfor the prepaid card account, determining, responsive to matching the atleast one account identifier in the incoming ACH file, whether theprepaid card account is associated with one or more pre-authorizedpayment requests by one or more select creditors to thereby define oneor more prioritized payments, and appending to the incoming ACH file theone or more prioritized payments to one or more select creditors tothereby create an outgoing ACH file so that the one or more prioritizedpayments is adapted to be deducted from the automatic deposit andcredited to the one or more select creditors, and a balance of theautomatic deposit is adapted to be credited to the prepaid card account.2. A system of claim 1, wherein the pre-authorized payment request bythe one or more select creditors is initiated in response to a queryfrom the financial institution computer responsive to matching theincoming ACH file to one or more accounts enrolled in the prioritizedpayment program; and the computer program product further comprising aset of instructions that, when executed by the financial institutioncomputer, cause the financial institution computer to perform theoperations of: determining, by the financial institution computer, whichof a plurality of prepaid card processors is associated with the prepaidcard account, and transmitting, via the ACH electronic datacommunications network, the ACH outgoing file to the prepaid processordetermined by the financial institution computer to be associated withthe prepaid card account so that relatively instantaneously the one ormore prioritized payments to the selected creditors is configured to bedebited from the prepaid card account and the balance of the automaticdeposit is configured to be credited to the prepaid card account.
 3. Asystem of claim 1, wherein the automatic deposit includes one or more ofthe following: an employer-initiated direct deposit of payroll, agovernment-initiated electronic transfer of benefits payment, and abank-initiated payment to a merchant for credit card sales; and whereinthe outgoing ACH file includes one or more entries associated with theincoming ACH file and one or more entries associated with the prioritizepayments to the one or more select creditors; and the computer programproduct further comprising a set of instructions that, when executed bythe financial institution computer, cause the financial institutioncomputer to perform the operations of: transmitting, via the ACHelectronic data communications network, the ACH outgoing file to aprepaid processor associated with the prepaid card account so thatrelatively instantaneously the one or more prioritized payments to theselected creditors is configured to be debited from the prepaid cardaccount and the balance of the automatic deposit is configured to becredited to the prepaid card account.
 4. A system of claim 1, whereinthe prioritized payments include customer-initiated payments, includingone or more of the following: a gift card purchase, a remittance tofamily located outside of a country where a prepaid card account holderis located, and a bill payment to a third-party, wherein the balance ofthe automatic deposit to be credited to the prepaid card account isdefined as a value of the automatic deposit less a total value of theone or more prioritized payments to the one or more select creditors,and wherein the prepaid card account is configured so that the balanceto be credited to the prepaid card account is adapted to be posted to anassociated prepaid card so that the prepaid card user only has access tothe automatic deposit less the one or more prioritize payments to theselect creditors.
 5. Computer program product stored on a non-transitorycomputer memory operable on a financial institution computer, thecomputer program product comprising a set of instructions that, whenexecuted by the financial institution computer, cause the financialinstitution computer to perform a process of associating a prepaid cardaccount with an automatic deposit and a process of providing prioritizedpayments from the automatic deposit, the computer program productperforming the operations of: maintaining one or more lists of prepaidcard account identifiers for a plurality of prepaid user card accountsenrolled in a prioritized payment program at a financial institution,the prioritized payment program allowing a prepaid card user topre-authorize payment requests by one or more select creditors;matching, responsive to receipt through an ACH electronic datacommunication network of an incoming ACH file including at least oneaccount identifier, the at least one account identifier in the incomingACH file with an account identifier in the one or more lists of accountidentifiers for prepaid card accounts enrolled in the prioritizedpayment program, the at least one account identifier being associatedwith the automatic deposit, the automatic deposit destined for theprepaid card account; determining, responsive to matching the at leastone account identifier in the incoming ACH file, whether the prepaidcard account is associated with one or more pre-authorized paymentrequests by one or more select creditors to thereby define one or moreprioritized payments; and appending to the incoming ACH file the one ormore prioritized payments to one or more select creditors to therebycreate an outgoing ACH file so that the one or more prioritized paymentsis adapted to be deducted from the automatic deposit and credited to theone or more select creditors, and a balance of the automatic deposit isadapted to be credited to the prepaid card account.
 6. Computer programproduct of claim 5, wherein the pre-authorized payment request by theone or more select creditors is initiated in response to a query fromthe financial institution computer responsive to matching the incomingACH file to one or more accounts enrolled in the prioritized paymentprogram; and the computer program product further comprising a set ofinstructions that, when executed by the financial institution computer,cause the financial institution computer to perform the operations of:determining, by the financial institution computer, which of a pluralityof prepaid card processors is associated with the prepaid card account,and transmitting, via the ACH electronic data communications network,the ACH outgoing file to the prepaid processor determined by thefinancial institution computer to be associated with the prepaid cardaccount so that relatively instantaneously the one or more prioritizedpayments to the selected creditors is configured to be debited from theprepaid card account and the balance of the automatic deposit isconfigured to be credited to the prepaid card account.
 7. Computerprogram product of claim 5, wherein the outgoing ACH file is directed toa prepaid card processor for posting to a prepaid card so that theprepaid card user only has the balance available on the card. 8.Computer program product of claim 5, wherein the automatic depositincludes one or more of the following: an employer-initiated directdeposit of payroll, a government-initiated electronic transfer ofbenefits payment, and a bank-initiated payment to a merchant for creditcard sales, and wherein the outgoing ACH file includes one or moreentries associated with the incoming ACH file and one or more entriesassociated with the prioritize payments to the one or more selectcreditors, and the computer program product further comprising a set ofinstructions that, when executed by the computer, cause the computer toperform the operations of: transmitting, via the ACH electronic datacommunications network, the ACH outgoing file to a prepaid processorassociated with the prepaid card account so that relativelyinstantaneously the one or more prioritized payments to the selectedcreditors is configured to be debited from the prepaid card account andthe balance of the automatic deposit is configured to be credited to theprepaid card account.
 9. Computer program product of claim 5, whereinthe prioritized payments include customer-initiated payments, includingone or more of the following: a gift card purchase, a remittance tofamily located outside a country where a prepaid card account holder islocated, and a bill payment to a third-party, wherein the balance of theautomatic deposit to be credited to the prepaid card account is definedas a value of the automatic deposit less a total value of the one ormore prioritized payments to the one or more select creditors, andwherein the prepaid card account is configured so that the balance to becredited to the prepaid card account is configured to be posted to anassociated prepaid card so that the prepaid card user only has access tothe automatic deposit less the one or more prioritize payments to theselect creditors.
 10. Computer program product of claim 5, furthercomprising a set of instructions that, when executed by the financialinstitution computer, cause the financial institution computer toperform the operations of: debiting a fee from either the one or moreprioritized payments or the balance of the automatic deposit. 11.Computer program product of claim 5, wherein enrollment of the prepaiduser account in the prioritized payment program is required as acondition of a transaction with the one or more select creditors. 12.Computer program product of claim 11, wherein the transaction includes aloan; and wherein the one or more select creditors includes at least asecond financial institution different and remote from the financialinstitution.
 13. A computer-implemented method for performing a processof associating a prepaid card user account with an automatic deposit anda process of providing prioritized payments from the automatic deposit,the computer-implemented method comprising the steps of maintaining, bya financial institution computer, one or more lists of prepaid cardaccount identifiers for a plurality of prepaid card accounts enrolled ina prioritized payment program at a financial institution, theprioritized payment program allowing a prepaid card user topre-authorize payment requests by one or more select creditors;matching, responsive to receipt through an ACH electronic datacommunication network of an incoming ACH file including at least oneaccount identifier, the at least one account identifier in the incomingACH file with an account identifier in the one or more lists of accountidentifiers for prepaid card accounts enrolled in the prioritizedpayment program, the at least one account identifier being associatedwith the automatic deposit, the automatic deposit destined for theprepaid card account; determining, responsive to matching the at leastone account identifier in the incoming ACH file, whether the prepaidcard account is associated with one or more pre-authorized paymentrequests by one or more select creditors to thereby define one or moreprioritized payments, and appending to the incoming ACH file the one ormore prioritized payments to one or more select creditors to therebycreate an outgoing ACH file so that the one or more prioritized paymentsis adapted to be deducted from the automatic deposit and credited to theone or more select creditors, and a balance of the automatic deposit isadapted to be credited to the prepaid card account.
 14. Acomputer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the payment request bythe one or more select creditors is initiated in response to a queryfrom the financial institution computer responsive to matching theincoming ACH file to one or more accounts enrolled in the prioritizedpayment program, and the computer-implemented method further comprisingthe steps of: determining, by the financial institution computer, whichof a plurality of prepaid card processors is associated with the prepaidcard account, and transmitting, via the ACH electronic datacommunication network, the ACH outgoing file to the prepaid processordetermined by the financial institution computer to be associated withthe prepaid card account so that relatively instantaneously the one ormore prioritized payments to the selected creditors is configured to bedebited from the prepaid card account and the balance of the automaticdeposit is configured to be credited to the prepaid card account.
 15. Acomputer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the outgoing ACH fileis directed to a prepaid card processor for posting to the prepaid cardso that the prepaid card user only has the balance available on thecard.
 16. A computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein theautomatic deposit includes one or more of the following: anemployer-initiated direct deposit of payroll, a government-initiatedelectronic transfer of benefits payment, and a bank-initiated payment toa merchant for credit card sale, wherein the outgoing ACH file includesone or more entries associated with the incoming ACH file and one ormore entries associated with the prioritize payments to the one or moreselect creditors, and the computer-implemented method further comprisingthe steps of transmitting, via the ACH electronic data communicationsnetwork, the ACH outgoing file to a prepaid processor associated withthe prepaid card account so that relatively instantaneously the one ormore prioritized payments to the selected creditors is configured to bedebited from the prepaid card account and the balance of the automaticdeposit is configured to be credited to the prepaid card account.
 17. Acomputer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the prioritizedpayments include customer-initiated payments, including one or more ofthe following: a gift card purchase, a remittance to family locatedoutside of a country where a prepaid card account holder is located, anda bill payment to a third-party, wherein the balance of the automaticdeposit to be credited to the prepaid card account is defined as a valueof the automatic deposit less a total value of the one or moreprioritized payments to the one or more select creditors, and whereinthe prepaid card account is configured so that the balance to becredited to the prepaid card account being configured to be posted to anassociated prepaid card so that the prepaid card user only has access tothe automatic deposit less the one or more prioritize payments to theselect creditors.
 18. A computer-implemented method of claim 13, furthercomprising: debiting a fee from either the one or more prioritizedpayments or the balance of the automatic deposit to be credited.
 19. Acomputer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein enrollment of theprepaid user account in the prioritized payment program is required as acondition of a transaction with the one or more select creditors.
 20. Acomputer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the transactionincludes a loan; and wherein the one or more select creditors includesat least a second financial institution different and remote from thefinancial institution.